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June 18, 2010

G69: Red Sox 10, Dodgers 6

Doubront's line may appear pedestrian -- 5-6-5-2-2, 83 -- but two of those runs were unearned and in three of his first four innings, he set down the Dodgers in order. He got first strike(s) on most hitters and was economical, throwing only 49 pitches through four.

I did not catch all of his innings, but was impressed by what I did see. He seemed to get rusty waiting around while the Sox sent 12 men to the plate in the fifth and so did not retire any of the four guys he faced in the sixth.

The first eight Red Sox batters reached safely in the fifth and seven of them scored. Adrian Beltre launched a bomb to left. In the first inning, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew went deep. Scott Atchison did a fantastic job in relief, retiring all nine batters he faced, striking out five.

The Marlins beat the Rays 7-4 (Garza allowed all seven runs and threw 71 pitches in 1.1 IP) and the Mets beat the Yankees 4-0 (MFY loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9th, but CI K'd on three pitches and Swisher first-pitch fouled out), so the Red Sox are 1 GB in the East. All three teams have won 41 games.

Felix Antonio Doubront was promoted to Pawtucket in late May. The 22-year-old lefty has made four starts: 16.2-15-2-5-16. 1.08 ERA.

He started the season with the Portland Sea Dogs (AA): 8 starts, 2.51 ERA. 39 hits and 17 walks in 43 innings (1.302 WHIP), with 38 strikeouts. ... In 2009, he had a 3.35 ERA in 26 starts for the Sea Dogs.

He's still developing his secondary pitches. But he's got some finish on that fastball and he's not afraid to throw it. ... John Farrell loves him. Absolutely loves him. When he says that, that gets my attention.

Farrell:

When you see a 6-3 left-hander who can throw the ball in the low 90s, that's a lot of good things to start with. Combine that with how he fared in the starts he got in spring training [3 games, 7 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 0 runs], and that was encouraging for all of us. ... He was able to get outs with his fastball in a major league spring training environment. He seemed to relish the opportunity and didn't back away from the challenge. He didn't fear contact.

Featuring an 87-91 MPH fastball with some late movement, Doubront likes to use the pitch to get ahead of batters. While not overpowering with his fastball, Doubront hides the ball very well in his delivery ... it allows him to take advantage of his improving 79-81 MPH change-up that fades out of the strike zone, with some late screwball action to it. ... Doubront's delivery is very mechanically sound, and he has shown excellent improvement on cleaning up his release point and consistently getting on top of the ball to throw downhill. ...

He could stand to tighten up his control by staying a little bit more consistent within his delivery to hit his spots. ... An effective third pitch in his repertoire will go a long way towards solidifying him as a future starting pitcher at the big league level. Development with his curveball will enable him to really keep hitters off-balance given the deception he can generate. Doubront is able to get swings and misses with his stuff, but also gives up a lot of contact ... Doubront has historically struggled against left-handed batters, but showed improvement in this area in 2009.

Dustin Richardson, a PawSox teammate, says Doubront has "great poise. He's pitching at an advanced level for his age. He's got a good fastball with a lot of late life. He throws three pitches for strikes and mixes things up real well. And on top of all that, he’s left-handed."

The Dodgers (38-28) are tied with the Padres for first place in the NL West. Right fielder Andre Either (.339/.401/.619, 12 dongs) is their top hitter OPS+-wise, with Manny Ramirez (.295/.384/.514) a solid second (143). James Loney has 22 doubles and is tied with Either for the team lead in RBI, with 43.

Monasterios made his debut on Opening Day this year and has pitched 42.1 innings: five starts (3.97 ERA, 1.324 WHIP) and 11 relief appearances. His last four games have been starts, and he has been building up his pitch count (73, 81, 86).

I wonder if the hubhub surrounding this game will help or hurt Doubront. Does having almost all of the attention directed elsewhere help him relax a bit or will the circus make him more nervous, or neither?

Last night, Remy mentioned the one time he played in the outfield. He said it was in Cleveland and he was hoping he could hide out there. But "the ball found me"; a hit went over his head. I meant to check it out after the game, but forgot.

It was May 18, 1980, and the Red Sox were in Cleveland. Remy moved from 2B to RF for the bottom of the 8th. (There was no bottom of the 9th, as Cleveland won 3-1.) The first batter Ron Hassey tripled to RF. I don't know if it sailed over Remy's head or not, but he probably remembers it correctly.

This is in Stockbridge, MA, just up the road from me. From the press release:All-American Festival to be held Saturday, July 3, from 12 to 4 p.m. Meet Linda Ruth Tosetti, granddaughter of Babe Ruth, who will share her personal memories of the legendary baseball hero. Next, learn about the major leagues from Brian Daubach, former Boston Red Sox first baseman; Daubach is the current manager of the Pittsfield Colonials, who will also be on hand to toss the ball (visitors are welcome to bring their own mitts). Explore the art of baseball with illustrator Graig Kreindler, and create your own baseball-inspired work with 3-D artist Charles Fazzino; Anna Wade, Director of Education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, will also be on hand to present a lively look at the history of the sport.

I don't know if Amy's a grandma yet, but I wanted to thank her for encouraging me about my interview at the beginning of yesterday's game thread. I went down to The Bar and celebrated that the interview is past. I'm sure my wife is glad, too -- I have been a pain in the ass recently.

To answer her question from yesterday, I don't know when I'll hear anything about the job. (I'm applying to teach full time where I already teach part time.)

Yea Ish, it was crazy. I left Wrigley in the 8th inning. I never leave games early, but I was by myself, it was way too hot, and I was hearing rumblings of the impending storm. It was pouring by the time I walked up the steps from the subway. Looks better outside now.

My son and his group have been waiting in line since noon to be the first into the MGMT concert tonight. He says he is undercover.

I waited to see Manny's at bat. Mixed reception, but mostly positive I think.

I'll take the laptop down to get something to eat and then I'm off to see Billy Elliott tonight. $25 same day tix!

Mrs. GotRibe: I was linked by a Boston meteorologist to a webcam outside of Wrigley - full streaming footage, and the rain and WIND were incredible. A bicycle rickshaw had its cloth passenger covering ripped off and numerous large trash cans were blown over.

great coverage with the tweets: there was some cheers, but some boos too. maybe more cheers in some sections and more boos somewhere else. and some people who did not make any noise. and some who emitted a low hum that sound not be descibed as a boo or a cheer. so a boring mix of everything.

the this day in baseball history thing had one from 1972. finley paid each A's palyer $300 to grow a mustache for father's day. reggie started the trend when he showed up for spring training with a moustache. it was the first time a MLB player had a 'stache since 1936!!

Hi, all. I was here, just trying to eat. I agree that it sounded like a lot more cheers than boos.

Zen, don't know if you are still here, but thanks for your good wishes. Not a grandma yet---it was just Braxton Hicks contractions, not the real thing. She isn't due til July 1, so I guess we will be waiting a bit!

I have always thought it would be a cool baseball trivia game to pick at random from all MLB players. You get a number of points from 0 to 10 based on what you can say about them. So, if I say, "Dan Uggla", and you know he plays for Florida and is an infielder, you get maybe 4 points. If you know he's a power-hitting 2B'er on the cusp of free agency, right handed, whatever, you might get 9. Know where he went to school or who drafted him, 10!

No, no---I saw Darnell's at bat and his beard! I just can't find a specific name for that style, though there is something called a chin beard and something called a chin curtain. Most seem to refer to chin only beards as goatees or petit goatees...

Don says, Here's the reception Manny got - then NESN shows 2 or 3 people in the crowd, one with a pro-Manny sign, the other with a thumbs-down - and plays music over it so you have no idea what happened. Good old NESN.